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Cerulean Oud – Maison Francis Kurkdjian OUD Perfume Review

“Where most ouds are coloured in deep reds or rich browns, Kurkdjian’s is hued a pure cerulean blue”

Perfume, like fashion, follows trends and these trends often relate to particular styles of perfumery or even individual notes. We very often see the same genus of perfumes coming on to the market at any one time, for instance fruity florals are everywhere at the moment and I challenge you to find 10 perfumes released in the last year that don’t contain pink pepper. But as with trends in fashion, things in the world of perfumery don’t last long before tastes change once again and a new style comes along. We are fickle creatures after all.

The problem with trends is that they very quickly become boring, and this has very much been the case with oud. Everyone has an oud, everybody from Guerlain to Creed, even Ferrari has one… (no, I’m not joking). A quick search of the Basenotes Fragrance Directory shows that there are in fact 199 fragrances containing the word oud in the title and a 148 which list the noble rot as a note. One can easily come to the conclusion that there are definitely too many ouds and it is easy to become overwhelmed by and even bored with the trend.

Of course, just because there are a lot of ouds on the market doesn’t mean that there isn’t still room for ingenuity and excellent craft, in fact it is quite the opposite, there are some really good ouds out there (just see The Candy Perfume Boy’s Guide to Oud). Last year Mona di Orio created Oud, a wonderfully unique take on oud, and this year Francis Kurkdjian does the same, and his offering could not be more unique.

OUD is the latest perfume to join the Maison Francis Kurkdjian lineup and it really is something very special. Francis Kurkdjian says of his oud offering: “My oud belongs to a marble palace engraved with gold, set under a dark-blue-star-studded night. It is the fine sand of the capricious sand dune, a fragrant harmattan in the silence of the desert.” Where most ouds are coloured in deep reds or rich browns, Kurkdjian’s is hued a pure cerulean blue and right from the beginning this OUD makes it clear that it is not your typical oud perfume.

“Oud can be seen as this century’s ambergris, a natural raw material, mid-way between wood and lichen, that can be strangely shaped. It has a rough, primitive aspect, an animal-like nature crying out to be made “sensual”, rather like the soul of a big cat dressed in silk.” – Francis Kurkdjian

The Notes

Saffron, Elemi Gum, Oud, Cedar Wood and Patchouli

How Does it Smell?

Right from the first spray it is very clear that OUD sets itself miles apart from the pack. It opens with gloriously bright citrus that at first shimmers and sparkles before becoming rich and almost candied. What makes the opening so unusual is that it is the opposite of what one would expect from an oud-based perfume, such is Kurkdjian’s talent of turning the expected upon its head.

The oud itself is used deftly, the name may shout OUD in capitals, but the note itself is pretty restrained within the composition, and it is all the better for it. Whereas we’re used to tripping over the oud (which is mostly synthetic – no bad thing in itself mind, its just not as smooth) in a perfume, here Kurkdjian asks you to search for it, he even says that he has “tamed its inimitable strength”. You step into the maze, not knowing where each turn will take you but safe in the knowledge that at the heart of the maze you will be rewarded. The oud at the heart of this maze, rather than being sour or astringent, is soft and plush. It is as smooth and delicate as silk with a beautiful, woody and smoky aura.

The citrus and oud float above an airy laundry musk that would feel completely out of place if it just wasn’t so damn good mixed with the oud and citrus. The musk makes OUD feel light and atmospheric, a quality that makes it stand out amongst the dense oriental ouds that flood the market. Oh, and don’t worry, this light and airy laundry musk doesn’t make OUD smell cheap, in fact the effect is quite the opposite, this is a very beautiful and refined perfume!

For me OUD was a surprise in a world where surprises are few and far between. If you feel that perfumery has lost its lustre and that there is too much choice with little difference, then give OUD a try. It will restore your faith that even after all this time there is still room for the element of surprise.

Hmm, hmm, hmm, I must say I love the look of the bottle, but other than that I am a bit reluctant to try OUD. Your review is very enticing, though I can’t quite imagine how the oud and Kurkdjian’s beloved laundry musks go together.

I have been looking forward to sampling this and your review makes me want to try it even more. I’m not a huge Oud fan, and Kurkdjian’s fragrances are mixed bag to me even though Pour la Soir is one of my favorites. I’ll have to make a trip to Neiman Marcus in the US which I believe is the only retailer who is selling this at present.

I agree with the reluctancy to try this.
I hated Mona’s Oud with a passion, and this composition just doesn’t sound interesting 😦
I guess it’d be good as an everyday cologne-oud kind of thing.
MFK is very hit and miss, I don’t want to own any of his work yet.

Oh this sounds like an oud that I might like, so far only MdO oud has been a hit with me. MFK also hit and miss with me, I love, love, love cologne pour le soir but could not get past the cumin in the absolue, maybe this will be another MFK love for me.

Cologne pour le Matin was a miss for me because of the laundry musk thing, but you are reassuring on this point. The rest sounds perfectly lovely, also the dreamy “back story” and the cerulean blue. Of course Pierre G also likes his cerulean perfumes, and him and Francis are mates, so we could even start referring to them as the “Boys in Blue”!

I’m glad you’ve got that guide to oud listed above, because it’ll probably take some time before I get around to working my way through the oud category, and it’s nice to have a reference to refer to. I’ve got at least the next year booked up in terms of things to sample ;), but I will get there eventually.

What a great review! I really like your metaphor with the labyrinth, although I see it more as the oud being the great minotaur chasing you down in it…
Coincidentally I am wearing Kurkdjian’s OUD today, bought it on the spot in Rome one week ago and I totally love it! To me the saffron note is also very present, and I love saffron. It almost draws toward a violet smell? Or if I am only tricked by the blue bottle.

This sounds so lovely, a cerulean oud sounds just my thing! I enjoy several of FK’s perfumes (Lumiere Noire pour femme, Promesse de L’Aube, Enlevemant au Serail, Fleur du Male) although when I tried Absolue pour le Soir, it felt like the perfume was wearing me and not the other way around…

Lovely review T, … and of course now you’ve managed to totally intrigued me to want to try it.
I must admit, what I had read so far had lead me to think that it would not quite be up to par to my usually more robust Oud preferences. …
And of course when using actual genuine oud, choosing to rather “tame its inimitable strength” is of course an ingenious way to keep costs as low as possible. 😉 … (I’m just hoping it will not leave me wishing it were a touch more “feral” instead.) 🙂

I don’t care what anyone says, I love oud. If I could choose between al of the rots to smell like, why not choose the most noble one! It’s very true that I have tried some bad ones. I sniffed YSL’s version today, and I thought it smelled like a drunken, sweaty sailor, in a not good way. Looking forward to trying Kurkdijan’s version though. Wonderful read!

[…] Francis Kurkdjian line I feel as if I am well-versed enough to be able to pick favourites. I think OUD, Aqua Universalis and Absolue Pour le Soir (review coming soon) are standouts, perhaps because they […]

[…] OUD really is an oud unlike any other, it pairs the leathery, medicinal and almost chemical facets of the noble rot with blindingly bright citrus and a metric ton of Kurkdjian’s favoured laundry musks. It is definitely a perfume that is not for everyone but that’s part of what I like about it, it is incredibly clever and not at all what I expected. […]

[…] But I refuse to be disheartened by the oud trend, because that’s exactly what it is – a trend, and we all know that trends are transient in nature, meaning that it’ll all be over before we know it. In reality this trend is far from being all bad, after all there are some great oud-based scents out there (check out my Guide to Oud), with perhaps the best in most recent years being Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s incandescent OUD. […]

[…] As a small token of my appreciation I would like to offer one reader a box of samples from one of my favourite brands – Maison Francis Kurkdjian – that was given to me at a Francis’ recent Perfume Lovers London event. The box contains spray samples (three in total) of the brand’s recent scents; Amyris Homme, Amyris Femme and the phenomenal OUD. […]

[…] that oud is bad, in fact there are a great many that are very enjoyable (Mona di Orio’s & Francis Kurkdjian’s spring to mind), it’s just that there is only a certain number of variations possible for […]

[…] OUD by Maison Francis Kurkdjian: When I first heard that Francis Kurkdjian was going to launch an oud fragrance under his eponymous brand I had low expectations. Oud really is everywhere and for the most part, the fragrances in the genre all cover similar ground. Kurkdjian’s OUD however, is entirely different and presents a silky/laundry musk-y citrus oud that feels like a second skin. I could wear it all day, every day. […]